Evenflo embrace in 2 door Ford Focus and Rav 4

[KNL]

I have friends who have registered for the Evenflo Aura travel system for their first baby.

I would never recommend this system (general bias against travel systems, rear adjust car seat, handle down & 1.5 inch requirement.) But, I don't have kids myself so even though I have researched car seats and strollers more than most people with kids I do not generally give advice unless asked.

That said, I am concerned that with the handle down & 1.5 inch of space rules the seat may be incompatible with their 2 door Ford Focus. It will not be the primary vehicle, but they have registered for a second base, so I know they are planning to install it there some.

Do any of you know if that car seat will fit in the 2 door Ford Focus? I am not asking about convenient, quick, or comfortable (for the front seat occupants) installs, just whether it is technically possible. If not, I may have to break my "no advice unless asked" rule and at least mention that the seat has those requirements and that they should test out the seats in their cars before purchasing.

Any thoughts?

Thanks in advance!

-Kerry

[ketchupqueen]

I would definitely mention it. I don't know if it is physically possible in a 2 door car, and it would probably make the RAV4's front seat unusable as well.

[snowbird25ca]

The Rav 4 does have a decent size backseat, so it may work there. They will definitely lose some passenger space, but may have room to still have somebody ride up there if they put the seat quite upright.

So far as the Focus, I'm sure with nobody in the front seat it'll fit fine. Install usually isn't a problem with the embrace, it's space issues that are the biggest ones. So as long as they follow the instructions and ALWAYS put the handle down, and have the clearance needed, then I'm not sure if the time is right to break the no interference rule or not. Hopefully they actually practiced with loosening and tightening the harness before choosing that travel system. In fact, that may be a very subtle way to bring up at least that issue - which in my mind is the biggest thing on an ongoing basis - the back adjust that is. If you have other friends with kids, you could simply ask an innocent question - one of your friends was telling you that some seats have back harness adjustments and some have an easy front pull strap. And then ask if she knows what kind of adjustment the seat she has chosen has. If you have a friend that has had a back adjust and hated it, then you could always share that at that time.

In other words - perhaps don't share info in terms of you've done research... but if you have friends with kids, ask questions like you're curious, and then share the experiences of your friends if they've hated "x" seat because of the handle or because of back adjust or anything like that...

I talk with pregnant moms and soon-to-be dads a lot, and I can say with 100% certainty that the vast majority of those moms wouldn't be interested in advice being given out without them either a) asking for it or b) coming from someone with personal experience - even if they listen politely, they're going to take the advice of another mom or someone they recognize as an expert. Many moms come in with lists from their friends and shop right off the list with notes. Mom to mom advice? Highly appreciated and strongly considered. (I don't mean this in a negative way, just sharing the observations I've made from dealing with hundreds of pregnant moms and suggesting that you may encounter some unintended hostility if you simply offer the advice out of the blue.)

So all of that to say, if you're a conduit of questions and offer experience from one of your mom friends as the questions are asked, it may be enough for her to at least do more research for herself and hopefully find out for herself the reason why we tend to not recommend evenflo seats very often. :thumbsup:

[HisMommy414]

I have an Embrace and a 2009 RAV4. I used the seat for only two months and had I known the handle had to be down with that much space in between, no one would be able to use the front seat. I'm not sure about the older models but I know the 2009 RAV4 does not have much room at all. In fact it has a little bit less room in the back seat than a 2009 Hyundai Sonata.

The RAV4 isn't here right now but when it is I'll install the base and take pictures and post them to show you. It'll be an hour or so but I'll make a note of it.

[HisMommy414]

I am so sorry that took so long! Hope you still need these.

http://c4.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images02/60/l_16ffe32ea1214db79ad3a462324a26b3.jpg

The driver's seat is where it needs to be in order for me to drive. I am 5'4". The handle of the car seat is against the driver's seat with no room to move down any further.
http://c2.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images02/80/l_448b9f59343e4861873a79d6f6f233d5.jpg

It is now approximately how the handle should be when you're driving.
http://c3.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images02/83/l_d47bea570a9a44ff8f93d59e6b9befaa.jpg

This is hard to see, but with the handle where it needs to be, the driver seat is awefully far up. If I were to drive like that, I'd be squished. The end of the seat is actually about four or five inches past where the steering wheel is, if that makes sense.
http://c1.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images02/37/l_64dd527951fd47e08800f024376f91e0.jpg

I hope these helped!

[snowbird25ca]

Just a curious question... well, a few of them. One because I'm not sure of when interiors of the Rav 4 have changed, and 2 because I've never compared an embrace and a peg perego side by side in terms of front to back room before...

Do you happen to know if the interior of the rav 4 has ever changed or possibly changed in the last few years anyways?

And does anyone know how the peg compares to the embrace in terms of front to back space (ignoring the 1.5" requirement of the evenflo infant seat for now, just the carseat itself since I have that recently in my mind for comparison.)

Also, check your manual regarding the recline of the vehicle seatback when installing with LATCH. I think your vehicle may be one that has the requirement of a certain # of clicks of recline when using LATCH and I'm wondering if that's the case how much difference it actually makes in terms of room the seat takes up. The back seat having that slight recline could mean that the base actually installs further towards the back of the vehicle giving a little more room for the front passenger?

I was actually surprised at the amount of room left with the peg seat installed, basically the front seat was close to all the way back and at a comfortable angle, and still room to reach down and get the seat off the base. But perhaps the interior was different that model year or the embrace even without the handle rule takes up that much more room in comparison to the peg.

I apologize to the OP for not considering the difference in how the Embrace sits on the base in comparison to how the Peg sits on the base. I might be wrong in thinking that it would fit based on the Peg Perego SIP easily fitting with room to spare. :o

[Unregistered]

Also, check your manual regarding the recline of the vehicle seatback when installing with LATCH. I think your vehicle may be one that has the requirement of a certain # of clicks of recline when using LATCH and I'm wondering if that's the case how much difference it actually makes in terms of room the seat takes up. The back seat having that slight recline could mean that the base actually installs further towards the back of the vehicle giving a little more room for the front passenger?

I can't check the manual at the moment because I'm not 100% sure where it is (bad, I know, but I'm not using that seat anymore). I'll put it on my to-do list and find it tomorrow and check that for you. As for the interior, the RAV4 that my seat is currently in is the only one I've ever had any expierence with, but judging by the size of the older models, it looks like the older models would have a smaller back seat, but again that's just judging by the outside. The only inside of a RAV4 I've seen is the one my parents own. I can't answer any questions about the Peg Perego seats but it looks like you've figured that issue out. Although I will tell you now that Peg Perego seats aren't worth the price tag. I'd go with something else, maybe a Graco SnugRide 32, Chicco Keyfit 30, or BabyTrend Flex Loc seat. The Flex Loc seat is skinny and I think the shell is smaller than the Embrace but I'm not sure how the handle needs to be while in a vehicle.

[ketchupqueen]

I'll ask my step-mom but as far as I know her '08 Rav4 back seats do not recline at all.

[kathysr98]

I just wanted to add, if you are able to discuss the situation with your friend, a BabyTrend Flex-Loc will fit in a Focus with the handle down as required, and one front seat all the way back & somewhat reclined. My dh is 6'8", so he cannot get in my car without the seat all the way back. I did have to install the seat towards the driver's side to be able to get the clearance I needed, but as I said, one seat can go all the way back with the BT seat. I hope you are able to help your friend avoid that aweful seat. I completely understand the knowing more about carseats than most before you even have a child; I was the same way.